Kathleen Kennedy to Receive Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneer of Year Award

Kathleen Kennedy will be receiving the Pioneer of the Year award at this year’s Will Rogers Motion Pictures Pioneers dinner.

Last year, Kennedy was picked by George Lucas to lead Lucasfilm. Kennedy has had a hugely impressive career—she began working with Steven Spielberg very early on, producing many of his most famous films. They formed Amblin Entertainment in 1983 with Frank Marshall (Kennedy’s husband). The pair then went on to found Kennedy/Marshall where they worked on The Sixth Sense and Seabiscuit.

Kennedy has produced films from Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis to most recently, Spielberg’s latest, Lincoln which is nominated for multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Chris Aronson, president of the Will Rogers Pioneers Foundation (also head of domestic distribution at Fox) discussed Kennedy's award.

We are extremely grateful that Kathleen will accept this well-deserved honor and help raise funds for the Motion Picture Pioneers Assistance Fund. She is the embodiment of what makes this industry so special -- a passion and dedication to the creative process and the desire to assist those who need a helping hand.

Kennedy will be overseeing the development of the Star Wars franchise snagging, as of last week, J.J. Abrams to direct—a job he had previously turned down. Arguably, overseeing the development of one of the most beloved and financially successful franchises makes Kennedy a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Kennedy will receive the award during CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April.